


with a quack quack here

by platonic_boner



Category: Psych
Genre: Fluff and Crack, Gen, Kid Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-18
Updated: 2015-07-18
Packaged: 2018-04-08 06:19:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 602
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4294008
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/platonic_boner/pseuds/platonic_boner
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shawn teaches his little sister to speak.</p>
            </blockquote>





	with a quack quack here

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by the "language" of clicks, bird sounds, and other noises that Shawn and Gus occasionally use. (For example, in episode 8.2.)

When Shawn was ten, he and Gus tried to create a secret language. The attempt failed miserably. Shawn insisted on incorporating a huge repertoire of barely distinguishable squawks, snorts, and what could only be classified as quacks, while Gus wasn’t satisfied unless everything could be spelled and all the verb tenses were categorized. The only thing they ever agreed on were their names: Shawn’s was two low honks and a quack, and Gus’ was Sug.

Gus, understandably, purged that entire afternoon from his memory.

* * *

When Shawn was eleven, he thought babies were useless because they couldn’t talk.

He complained at length to Gus about it. Specifically, about tiny six-week-old Sabrina Spencer, whose only methods of communication were screaming and crying. 

“That’s not true,” Gus tried to correct him, in his know-it-all voice. He’d done lots of reading in preparation for the Spencers’ new baby.

“You’re right,” Shawn said, over whatever book knowledge Gus was about to spout. “She also communicates by smells. Gross, disgusting smells.”

Gus sputtered. Shawn figured he was just oversensitive because Gus also often communicated in tears, screaming, and smelling bad.

 

Gus got to visit Sabrina for the first time later that day.

“Hi there,” he said. “Goo-goo ga ga. Gaaa!”

“Talk to her in real words, Gus,” Shawn’s mom said. “She’s learning to talk from how we talk to her. You don’t want her to learn some made-up language, do you?”

Gus shook his head and Sabrina spat up on him. Fortunately, this provided a distraction for the way Shawn’s eyes lit up and how he was rubbing his hands with glee.

* * *

When Shawn was twelve, babysitting Sabrina was one of his main responsibilities. His dad was always working, and his mom needed a break sometimes. Besides, Sabrina was cool. Not quite as cool as Gus, but she never objected if you blamed broken stuff on her, and if you whistled she pointed at pineapples, because that was how you said pineapple in Spencer-ese.

(Shawn originally called his language Shawn-ese, but then he felt that would be unfair to Sabrina when she learned what Shawn was in English.)

Anyways, so Shawn was babysitting Sabrina on a Saturday morning when he could have been playing with Gus, and he _would_ have been a little annoyed, but - 

But then Sabrina wanted his attention, and she went, _honk honk quack_.

Shawn sat up and turned around and double-clicked his tongue, which could, depending on the orientation of your eyebrows, either mean “you suck” or “repeat that.”

In this case, Shawn definitely meant the latter.

_Honk honk quack_ , repeated Sabrina. _Honk honk quack_.

(Everyone thought Shawn was just jealous not to be the centre of attention a week later when Sabrina said her first English word, “Mama”, and Shawn just rolled his eyes. They didn’t know her _real_ first word was Shawn.)

* * *

When Shawn was fifteen, he was grounded for three weeks straight after he forgot one of the hats in the restaurant and Sabrina tried to help him in Spencer-ese. She’d then cracked under the ensuing interrogation.

Shawn was just glad his dad didn’t catch on to the fact that “dad” was pronounced by blowing a raspberry. He’s pretty sure he’d never have seen the light of day again.

* * *

When Shawn was all grown up and the name Sabrina showed up on his call display, he always answered the phone with a _chirp_?

Sabrina always replied with _chirp, honk honk quack_!

Twenty, forty, sixty years later, they would still be fluent in Spencer-ese. Partly, it was because of regular practice, but mainly, it was because neither of them ever forgot anything.


End file.
